It's About Time
by TheLittleBlueFangirl
Summary: Hiccup and Ash are hopeless. They both obviously have feelings for each other, but don't have the guts to admit it even now when they're on the verge of turning nineteen. But when they do how does it happen? Well... it starts with Toothless giving Hiccup an unwanted haircut. Fem!Hiccup Male!Astrid
1. Haircut

**Haircut**

 **Hiccup Pov**

Her hair was too short. Hiccup knew that, but wanted all those stares to move somewhere that wasn't _her_ as she walked into the Great Hall with Toothless in tow. It was his fault. That dragon with the big eyes who cooed as he bounded over to the other dragons was the reason for the drastic cut. Useless bloody reptile.

"I hate all of you," she mumbled, falling into a seat beside Ash and burying her face in her arms.

The only other female laughed. "What'd we do this time? I don't remember doing anything stupid towards Hiccup… do you Tuff?"

"Nope."

She sighed and looked up from her arms. "You knuckleheads all wake up at dawn. I like this wonderful thing called 'sleep' you know?"

"Sleep's overrated, Cuz."

Hiccup humbly flipped him the bird, head still buried in her arms. "I told you not to call me that, Snotlout."

"I don't listen to anyone," she heard him reply proudly.

She rolled her eyes.

Lifting her head, Hiccup found everyone staring at her for some profound reason and she felt her cheeks heat up.

"Why are you all staring at me?"

"Your hair…" Ash mumbled, glancing at her before looking away again.

She groaned and ran a hand through the short tresses. "Whose fault is it?"

Gesturing to the dragons with her face covered with her hands, a collective "ahhhh!" was heard from their table.

"And how'd that happen?" Fishlegs asked, leaning forward in interest.

"He got the hiccups and burnt half my hair off." Oh the irony.

It was silent before the Tuffnut and Snotlout burst into laughter and she smiled as Ruffnut punched the both of them for her and offered her an apologetic manical grin.

She felt her hair and grimaced at the uneven ends. All the charred hair was gone, but the result was a choppy mess.

And she hated it.

Toothless bounded over with a dopey dragon smile and tried to lick her only to be rebuffed.

"No kisses, Bud."

Snotlout muttered something that she didn't catch, all of them laughing except for Ash who was strangely silent. She frowned and turned to the blonde warrior.

Gods he was cute. With all his nicely tousled blonde hair and those warm blue eyes of his that crinkled sweetly at the corners whenever he smiled at her. Or maybe it was also the little freckles that were on his sun-kissed cheeks and how he sometimes grabbed her out of harm's way. Maybe it was that he made her feel safe.

She managed to snap out of her silent adoration and asked what she'd been meaning to.

"What'd Snot say?"

"Not saying."

She huffed and slumped against Toothless who was sitting behind her quite happily, but still seemed confused that he'd been rejected. Poor sod.

"That reminds me; I made more Gronkle Iron!"

"Seriously?" Hiccup perked up and propped her chin on her now entwined fingers.

("How does that remind him about something dragon related?" Tuffnut asked his sister who simply shrugged it off)

He nodded eagerly. "I sent it down to the forge and-"

"Oh gods!" she jumped up and hopped onto Toothless' back.

"What is it?"

She gave them an apologetic smile. "Gobber needs me at the forge today! I need to go!"

The Night Fury started bounding out of the Hall and she called back to them, "SEE YA LATER!"

Hiccup sat in her chair with a groan, her skin wearing a harsh sheen of sweat, muscles aching and throbbing. The forge had been bombarded with requests for weapons with the new source of Gronkle Iron and only now at noon did she have no more customers. She slumped into her chair and groaned at the hair sticking to her neck. Normally she'd put it in a ponytail… but it was too short. Groaning, she pressed a warm hand to her forehead.

"Hiccup?"

She jumped at the voice of a particular blonde and tried to clean up the work bench that was covered in bits and pieces of everything. Some of her more… personal sketches were in clear view. Ash was not seeing those.

Especially when a majority of them were sketches of him.

Running out of her private workroom and closing the door, she managed to smile at the blonde who was holding a tray full of what must've been breakfast and lunch, tucking some hair behind her ear.

"Hello!"

He smiled a tiny grin and offered her the food. "I thought you might want some food after all the work."

"Thanks," she took some bread that he'd cut and spread some butter on it chewing thankfully.

"What's Toothless up to?"

Ash set the tray on the bench and leant against it with another small smile. "He was moping at the door before Stormfly started chasing him."

"Yeah," she mumbled guiltily, "I haven't been able to ride him all day… Gobber bailed and left, so I had to deal with more then twenty vikings who wanted new weapons."

He winced for her and she poked her head out of the booth to see Toothless now galumfing after Stormfly.

She grinned and turned to find Ash with a slight blush on his face. With a frown, she walked over and pressed the back of her hand against his forehead.

"Are you okay?"

"What are those?"

Hiccup hit his arm lightly, "That doesn't answer my question."

"What are you wearing?"

Hiccup glanced down at her attire; a loose sleeveless shirt, extremely short pants (which she dubbed as shorts) and her normal fur boot and prosthetic. She frowned.

"There's nothing wrong with this."

Ash frowned. "Aren't they a bit… short?"

"They're comfy and it gets freakishly hot in here; it's _this_ or burning to death. Unlike you I can't go around taking my shirt off."

After a moment what she had just blurted settled in and she blushed, looking away and chewing on the last bite of her bread. Now Hiccup was thinking about him shirtless… not a bad daydream, but still.

Little hands appeared on the other side of the bench and a little helmet and sweet brown eyes peered over. Hiccup smiled and leant over with her arms cross. A little blonde girl with a lopsided too-big helmet stared up at her with a huge toothy grin. Almere Omerson.

"Hey Mere, what would you like me to do for you?"

Almere offered her a child-sized axe, "Could you sharpen this for me? Ma says that it's blunt."

Hiccup smile at her in a friendly way. "She'd right, sweetie. Now I'll go sharpen this for you."

Carrying the axe to the sharpening stone, she turned the handle a few times before setting the metal against the spinning wheel and saw the sparks fly. The little girl and Ash were looking at her. And she could feel the stares, but didn't worry. Almere was just curious like any other six year old girl.

But Ash? He was just interested in her work. Probably.

She twirled the axe to have the other side of the blade press against the spinning stone.

It was only a few minutes later that the axe blade was completely sharpened and she handed it to the blonde girl with a grin (the same little girl who was eating some of her bread that Ash brought). "There you go."

"Thank you! Do I have to pay? Ma didn't give me any money or anything to trade..."

Hiccup picked the girl up with the muscles in her arms groaning from the effort and sat her on the inside side of the bench.

"I won't make you pay… but I have a favour okay?"

Almere nodded and leant forward curiously. "What is it?"

"I want a big dragon hug."

The little girl grinned widely and threw her arms around Hiccup's waist, burying her little face into the older girl's chest. Smiling, Hiccup returned the embrace and wound her arms around Almere, resting her chin on the girl's head. She could feel her tiny heartbeat against her abdomen and counted the beats. It sounded like a little drum, being hit steadily by a muffled drum stick. The little drum heart.

Still grinning she released the girl and Ash (she'd forgotten about him somehow) knelt down slightly to be eyelevel with Almere. He offered the little girl once of the biggest grins Hiccup had seen him have before. It was wide and made his cheeks rounder and the curve of his cheekbones more prominent. She tried her best to not hypoventilate.

"Your ma is probably waiting for you."

She nodded and hopped off the bench onto the outside of the forge with her axe in hand.

Ash took her helmet before Almere could leave, the little girl frowning at him. What on Midgard was he doing?

"Shouldn't you thank Hiccup one last time?" he said with an attractively quirked brow.

"Thank you Hiccup!"

She smiled. "No problem, sweetie."

Ash ruffled the Almere's hair affectionately, before setting the over-sized helmet back on her head. They watched her run off, waving back at them briefly before running the rest of the way home happily swinging her axe.

"She's such a cutie."

As she turned she heard him mumble, "She's not the only cute thing around here."

Grinning widely at this she nodded and looked over to the Night Fury that she could see through the door.

"I agree; Toothless can be pretty adorable too."

"I didn't mean Toothless…" he muttered, running a hand through his bangs.

Hiccup looked over and frowned at Ash. Then she noticed him staring contently at her.

"AAAASSSSSHHHH! Stop looking at my hair!"

She buried her face in her hands and turned away from did everyone need to look at her? Gods, Toothless! He _had_ to burn her hair didn't he? If he hadn't then she wouldn't be in this situation that made her feel intensely self-conscious.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

"You still did!" she cried, "And it's bad enough that I can't put my hair up and it's sticking to my neck, but now everyone keeps looking at me! I don't like people staring!"

"It's been four years, Hiccup; and you've taken down the Red Death and saved Berk at least a dozen times. People stare because of your status… and your face."

She frowned at him. "M-my face?"

"Everyone in the village says that you're pretty."

"They don't."

"They _do_. Ruff is jealous, the little kids call you 'Pretty Hiccup' and everyone's parents ask about the 'gorgeous Haddock girl'."

She felt her cheeks darken and shook her head. "People wouldn't say that stuff about me."

Ash laughed and tilted her head up to look at him, his cheeks slightly pink. "I tried to tell you that you were cute a minute ago."

"I thought-"

"I wouldn't admit that Toothless is cute. He is, but I wouldn't say it in those words."

Hiccup managed to smile through her embarrassment. "You just did."

"Don't you get started missy."

She giggled, cheeks still pink. After another moment, she noticed the close-proximity and flushed crimson. He seemed to notice too, releasing her chin and backing away. He ran his hand through his hair sheepishly, muttering an apology.

Tucking some hair behind her ear, a moment later she found Ash doing something with her bangs.

"W-what are you doing?"

"You were complaining about your hair, so I'm braiding it for you."

She frowned and let his strangely deft fingers do there job. "And why are you braiding along my hairline?"

"Because it gets the front out of the way, now let me do my thing okay?"

Hiccup nodded slightly and watched him focus on his work.

Ash was completely engrossed in his work, that he didn't notice her contently staring at his face and trying to pinpoint every single freckle on his cheeks. They were like stars. Stars dotting his skin and making him less faultless, but still faultless at the same time. She loved his freckles. They made him more human. He was so unearthly that only his flaws made him seem normal.

His freckles and his recklessness were some of them… and his belief that she was cute.

That one was definitely on her list.

He finished the braid along her hair line, gathering the end of the braid and the rest of her hair into a ponytail a few inches above the nape of her neck, using a spare scrap of fabric to tie it and she swore that he tied it into a _bow_.

Very manly Ash.

Grinning at him, she thanked him.

"That's okay."

"Still hot though."

She turned away from him and collapsed onto a seat facing away from him. Cold wet hands touched her neck and she hummed.

"Thanks Ash."

He flicked some water in her face to make her shriek. "No problem."

"I hate you," she mumbled.

"You don't."

Hiccup turned to straddle her chair and looked at him challengingly. "Yeah? And how do you know that."

"Gut feeling."

"Sure," she got out of her chair and patted his cheek as she passed him, making sure to chassé out of the forge as best as she could with only one leg.

Swearing that she heard him mutter something, his footsteps caught up to her and she felt a grin grow on her face.

"Yes?"

"Don't walk off on me, Hiccup."

"And why can't I?" she asked with a cocked brow.

He grinned goofily at her, despite his constant calm and stoic exterior. "Because I don't like pretty girls running away from me."

Blushing, she managed to spit out, "You're talking to the wrong person, Ash."

Ash's lips lowered at the corners and he tugged on her wrist, making her stop. "Why don't you think that you're pretty?"

"Oh I don't know; my pegleg, my choppy hair, my nose, my freckles, my too much of _this_ ," she gestured to the terential curve of her bust, her hips and her thighs, "Why am I even talking to you about this?"

He shrugged, arms crossed over his chest and grinned at her. "Maybe you find it easy to talk to me."

"Probably," Hiccup said.

"Oh and Hiccup?"

She looked at him again. "Yes."

Ash was grinning at her in the sort of way that made her heart malfunction like one of her old war weapons. Maybe he shouldn't grin anymore. For the safety of her organs.

"For the record; your pegleg is awesome, your choppy hair suits you, your nose is adorable, your freckles are one of your best features and your 'this' is perfect."

Hiccup's cheeks burned, "T-thanks, Ash."

"No problem."

Taking a deep breath, she turned to him and clenched her fists.

"Why do you always say stuff like that?"

He frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

"You always say nice things to me and never expect anything in return. Why?"

Ash looked at her with this startled expression that suited him far too well. "Am I not supposed to say nice things?"

"I don't know!"

She put two fingers of her left hand in her mouth and whistled. Toothless came sprinting over with a goofy dragon smile one his face, Stormfly on his tail (quite literally).

Mounting the Night Fury, she murmured. "I'll see you at the Great Hall in half an hour."

"Okay."

She nodded to him and before she could fly off, Ash grabbed her wrist.

"And Hiccup?"

"Yes?"

He smiled at her. "Don't hurt yourself picking up little kids when you're sore; nobody likes watching you in pain."

"Okay," she murmured and flew off towards her house. That Hofferson boy was going to be the death of her. Friendly teasing (or that's what she thought it was), turned into this weird complex complimenting that made no sense.

And she knew that when he said, "nobody likes watching you in pain," that he'd meant to say 'I don't like watching you in pain'.

Gods, Ash, gods.

 **Geez Ash, messing with poor Hiccup's head! I love these two as genderbent characters! And if anyone's wandering why male Astrid is more laid-back, it's because I think if she was a boy she'd have a lot less to prove (less sexist issues) and would be able to be more relaxed, so yeah. So basically a male Astrid would be a lot less abusive during the httyd movie. Maybe during the scene when Toothless jumped out to protect Hiccup after he wins dragon training, Ash would've only been asking her questions in a harsh tone or something instead of hitting her.**

 **I hope you enjoyed it! I love feedback too, so if you're bothered please review!**

 **-Blue**


	2. Piggyback

**Piggyback**

 **Ash POV**

"She's not here lad."

Ash frowned at the chief standing at the front door with a twitch of a smile underneath his beard.

"How do you know that I was here for Hiccup? Maybe I just wanted to talk to you, Chief."

Stoic laughed. "When ya have a daughter and a boy constantly comes to see 'er, ya know lad."

He felt his cheeks pinken slightly at the words. "I don't know what you mean, sir."

"Ya do know what I mean, but ya won't admit it. She's at the Great Hall I think, but before ya go off to get 'er, I need to say one thing; ya need to tell 'er sometime boy, because that daughter o' mine overthinks everything and she is as bad as 'er mother at understanding boys. Especially ones that like 'er."

His hands were quite interesting. The fierce warrior couldn't meet the eyes of the father of the girl that he loved. Ash had already been as blunt as he would dare to with his pride and she still didn't get it. The smartest girl- viking even- in Berk was as dense as mud when it came to his advances. It could've been the fact that she'd spent a majority of her life as an outcast or that she simply couldn't decipher his reasoning for his bluntness.

He regretted those years of ignoring her though.

Ash thought she was beautiful and smart since he was five, but when they turned seven she was cast out as different and un-viking-like. It stung him that he hadn't tried to be her friend when she needed him most. He still hated himself for it.

"I've been as blunt as I can, sir."

Stoic smiled at him through the density of his braided beard. "I don't think ya have. Have you directly told 'er yer feelings?"

"Well no… but-"

The large man bellowed in laughter. "Hinting won't get ya anywhere with my lass, now go find Hiccup."

"I will, sir."

He turned around to be interrupted by Stoic. "And enough with the 'sir' stuff, Ash. You might be my son-in-law one day ya know?"

Ash spluttered and saw the chaotic grin on the man's face, scowling at his red face and turning away, jumping onto Stormfly and leading her towards the Great Hall.

When he ran into the hall the last thing he expected was to find Hiccup peacefully sleeping at the table that the dragon riders sat at. He'd expected to find her working furiously on something that she woken up early to work on, but it looked like she'd already done that until early in the morning, collapsing on the table. A few people were whispering while looking her direction and Ash frowned.

Ash walked over to Gobber who was chuckling to another equally broad viking.

"How long has she been here?"

"Well after the other riders left, she stayed workin' on something. Accordin' to one of the drunks she was still workin' at one in the mornin'. Must've fallen asleep. Why'd you ask, Ash?"

The blacksmith was grinning at him and the blonde rolled his eyes, walking over to her table and dismissing him. Gobber called out something that made half the hall erupt into laughter, the eighteen year old reddening lightly.

Sitting beside the auburn haired beauty, he looked carefully at her face. Her mouth was slightly agape, some dried drool on the side of her plump lips and he couldn't help but grin at that. It was endearing. Long, full eyelashes shadowed her cheeks and drew attention to her sweetly freckled face. And gods, her bangs was falling out of the braid that she'd had across her hairline the day before. Her body was curled sweetly towards the table like a cat, head resting comfortably in her arms.

He gently prodded her shoulder and she stirred lightly, before stilling again.

"Hiccup you have to wake up."

Big green eyes opened drowsily and stared at him, crinkling happily at the corners as she smiled dopily. "Hi Ash."

"Hi," Ash smiled, "How long were you up for?"

She shrugged, head still resting in her arms. "I don't think I stopped until about two or three."

"You should've gone to bed; you were at the forge all day."

Yawning (adorably), she shook her head. "I had a new idea for my prosthetic and I had to get it down while I remembered."

"You know you've only slept for two to three hours right?"

She groaned and looked at him pleadingly. "That sucks."

"Of course it sucks."

Ash could see her falling back into a state of deep drowsiness again and smiled. Gods, she was cute. He couldn't even look at her without grinning like a maniac.

"You need to go home and sleep," he told her.

"But the table's closer," she whined.

He laughed, "Stop being lazy."

"I'm tired though."

Smiling, he ran a hand through his hair in thought and stopped midway. His grin widened. The best idea he'd had for a while popped into his head. It was brilliant.

"Bridal, shoulder or piggyback?"

She opened her eyes and frowned at him. "What?"

"I'll carry you; bridal, shoulder or piggyback?"

"I don't know…"

"Bridal?"

"Too coupley," she mumbled, a light pinkness in her cheeks.

"Shoulder?"  
"I have dignity."

"Piggyback?"  
Hiccup nodded lazily. "Perfect."

He knelt down in front of the bench and heard her shuffling to turn on her seat.

She basically flopped onto his back and he grinned as she slung her arms around his shoulders, her head resting on his shoulder. Making sure that his hands were holding her legs properly, he stood up and started walking out of the Great Hall, cheers being shouted after him.

The sad part was a fair few were drunk and at sunrise no less. And the calls were too embarrassing to even repeat. Gobber also had the guts to wink at him when he passed mouthing, "Make a move."

Ash shook his head at him and walked out, managing to edge the door open without killing his passenger.

As he walked down the steps, Hiccup's nose found it's face into the crevice of his neck, nuzzling into it. With a more stiff posture, he kept walking with a slight uneasiness of the sleep caused affection and reached the bottom of the steps, Stormly tottering behind them. He walked through the village quite easily with her on his back; she was light and curled just the right way against his body to make the job of carrying her easily. Not that it was a job- he wanted to do it on his own accord- but it felt like an obligation.

Stormfly squawked at him and he smiled. "Go home, I'll be back soon anyway."

She nodded and flew off. He couldn't help, but wonder about Toothless though. Had he scampered home? Had he gone off somewhere?

"Hey, Hiccup?"

"Mmm?" she pressed her nose further into his neck.

"Where's Toothless?"

"Mmm… wandering…"

Ash nodded and kept walking, trying to ignore the suggestive glares of the villagers. Was Berk just a load of perverse minded people or were they just pinning for him and Hiccup to be a couple? The first one probably.

Wolfwhistles and winks were the most common sight, but the suggestive yells? Hopefully Hiccup was too knackered to hear. Then -of course- he ran into the other riders. They grinned and ran over.

"Hey Ash, whatcha- oh… is that?"

He nodded and turned slightly so that they could see the chief's daughter curled into his back.

"Can I ask why?" Fishlegs said.

"Because she stayed up all night working on a design and she's too lazy to walk back home."

Hiccup's hands hit –patted?- his chest. "Not… lazy…"

They laughed and Ruffnut gave Ash a knowing look. "Ya know… that braid in her hair looks familiar… don't you think?"

"What are you insuniating?"

"That you braided her hair yesterday," she said.

Ash managed to keep the heat out of his cheeks and raised an eyebrow. Only Hiccup could make him blush.

"Fine, you won't admit it, but you did."

"Sure."

She frowned. "Is that a 'yes I did' or a 'believe what you want'?"

"The second one."

Ruffnut huffed. "You're the worst person to interrogate."

The boys all looked at her strangely. "What?"

"You know what the word 'interrogate' means?" Fishlegs mumbled.

"I'm smarter than that troll," she said, gesturing to her twin.

Tuffnut frowned for a long moment, everyone's attention on him before her words sunk in. He growled and leapt at his sister the two rolling off in a wrestling fit nearby.

When Ash looked at the remaining two when they gave him waggly eyebrows. Oh gods.

"So Ash… how's my little cousin going aye?"

"She's older than you."

Snotlout stuck his tongue out at him.

"It's weird to see her sleeping."

"How so, Fish?"

The rotund blonde grinned. "She just looks fragile and it's weird, because she's never vulnerable."

"She is fragile sometimes though," Hiccup shifted lightly on his back, nose scraping across his neck.

"Not in front of anyone except for you."

He frowned at Fishlegs, "Are you sure?"

"Everyone knows that she's more comfortable with you than anyone else."

Ash thought about it. He was her closest friend, besides Ruff and even then that was because she needed a girl to talk to every now and then. And she was open with him. With most things, she let him see her weaknesses, trusting him to not use them against her.

He knew that she was deadly ticklish, secretly was cuddly, had a huge fear of thunder and she seeked her father's approval above anything else.

And it gave him a tingle in the spine to know that only _he_ \- Ash Hofferson- knew this.

The weight of a girl on his back seemed lighter.

"Hey Ash?"

"Yeah?"

Snotlout grinned, "Can you feel her you-knows?"

"What?"

"Her," the perverted young adult gestured to his chest.

Ash scowled at him. "Seriously? She's your cousin."

"Doesn't mean I don't notice things."

His scowl deepened and Ruff appeared to punch Snotlout for him, offering him an apologetic grin.

"That's gross Snot! You don't ask people that!"

Tuffnut appeared with a bleeding nose. "She's just saying that because she's flat."

The snap of his nose was oddly satifying.

"And you guys wonder why you're single."

"You can't say much either."

Ash shrugged, but was internally grinning wanting to gesture to the girl sleeping on his back.

"Closer than you lot," Ruff muttered gesturing to Hiccup.

As if seeming to make a point, she nuzzled into his neck, the simply action making Ash's body stiffen. They laughed softly and the female twin said something about her point being proven.

"You know it's weird."

"What's weird?" Snotlout asked before Ash could.

Fishlegs smiled, "She acts like a dragon when she sleeps. She makes weird noises and gets all… cuddly."

"Fish, what does the um… nuzzling thing mean with dragons?"

He grinned widely, "Dragons nuzzle to show affection towards their mates."

Ash spluttered, cheeks burning. The riders hooted and laughed at him, Hiccup practically purring in her sleep. Obviously they laughed harder.

"I'm just going to take her home now if you don't mind."

"Oi Ash!" Ruff called as he started walking towards the chief's house.

"Yeah?"

She grinned. "If Fish is right, don't screw up."

"I'll try not to."

They cheered as he walked up the steep hill to her house, adjusting his hold on her thighs and allowing her to curl peacefully around him. Mate. It was a strange word. And to think that she acted like she was his while she slept was even stranger. Maybe it was like being drunk; drunken words speak sober thoughts. Maybe sleepy actions speak infinite volumes.

He leant forward, so he could knock without dropping Hiccup and fixed his grip. Stoic opened the door and smiled at the sight. Ash could imagine his perspective; his daughter sleeping peaceful on the back of one of the best fighters on Berk, said daughter nuzzling the warrior's neck. He felt his face heat up like a fire. The chief bellowed in laughter and moved aside.

"Exhausted aye?"

He nodded.

"Ya look quite content there lad."

Ash looked away.

"Take 'er upstairs and if you can, get 'er awake so she can change. I trust ya not to try anything."

"I won't si- Stoic," Ash said.

Walking over to the stairs, he climbed up carefully and pushed the door open with his foot. Her room was brilliant. Sketches and designs decorated her walls, a desk and chair shoved into a corner, her bed shoved to be next to the door with a set of drawers acting as a bedside table. There was a large flat rock outcrop which might've been Toothless' bed.

The strange thing was, he'd only ever been in her room once; while she was unconscious after the battle with the Red Death. He remembered the fear of her not waking up. Sitting beside her bed for hours everyday and not knowing what to do except stay silent. Sometimes he'd talk and recount what had happened in the village recently, but that was it. He never confessed what he might've regretted.

Ash sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to pry her hands from his neck. She didn't budge. She simply curled closer to him and her lips brushed against his neck. He swore and turned her around, so that her arms stayed around his neck and she now sat in his lap. Sighing, he gently prodded her shoulders, trying not to take note of the close proximity.

"Hiccup?"

"Hmm?" she blinked at him and yawned, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Come on, you have to get up and change."

Hiccup pulled away from his shoulder and frowned at him. "Why?"

"Because your gear can't be comfortable to sleep in."

"No… it isn't… but you're warm," she mumbled, curling against his chest.

He smiled and picked her up (bridal this time), laying her on her bed. Hiccup curled onto the covers and looked at him curiously.

"Do you want a tunic?"

She nodded and gestured to the drawers beside her bed, sitting up and watching drowsily. He opened the the middle drawer and slammed it close, cheeks pink. Great now he knew which one was her underwear drawer. Tentively he opened the top drawer and found some of her old tunics that she wore before she… grew up.

"Would one of these be okay?"

Another nod. He grabbed the first one that he saw and gave it to her.

"Um…"

"Give me," yawn, "five minutes…"

He nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He slumped, pressing his head against the door and trying to even his breathing.

Hiccup made him vulnerable.

She smiled, she laughed, she teased him, she fiddled with her hair; she just did everything the right way to get his guard down. He should've hated that she made him vulnerable; he was a warrior and warriors don't have their guard down.

But he didn't have to be a warrior with Hiccup. He could just be Ash.

He'd been counting the seconds and he'd hit 300; five minutes were up.

"Hiccup?"

There wasn't a reply. Ash frowned and opened the door, peering over where her bed was. She was curled up asleep on top of the covers, green long sleeved tunic on, hair falling out of the braid. He smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed, gently taking the scrap of fabric out of her hair and undid the braid, careful not to wake her. He scooped her up in his arms and partially balanced her on his knee as he pulled back the covers. Setting her down, he lifted the covers over her body and stroked some hair back from her head. She pressed closer to his hand and he grinned. Gods.

Pushing a strand out of her face, he heard a loud thump, turning to see Toothless with a cocked head having just jumped through the window. He smiled and scratched the dragon's jaw fondly.

"Make sure she sleeps okay?"

He nodded and Ash stepped out of the room, smiling on last time before closing the door and walking downstairs.

"How is she lad?"

Ash smiled. "She's fine, sir. Sleeping."

"Good."

He walked towards the door, only being stopped by a large hand. He turned back to Stoic who nodded to him.

"You need to tell 'er soon; I'm not getting any younger and I'd like to have some grandchildren."

His face reddened and he looked at the chief flabbergasted. "I-I'm going to leave."

While he was walking hurriedly to the front door, he heard the middle-aged man mutter something about teenagers being more sensitive than they used to be.

He almost choked again before he got out of the house.

 **Geez Hiccup... now you're messing with Ash. I liked writing the awkwardness of this chapter and the "mate" thing though.**

 **And Stoic! Great protective parenting (epic fail) Stoic *wink*. And to explain Snotlout being a gross pig, we all have one perverted friend and he was always going be that friend. So yeah, I'll update tomorrow since I've just got two other chapters written (they need editing) and the epilogue left to write of this so, hopefully this is all posted by Tuesday or Wednesday (I can't believe that I've written almost all of my story in less than a fortnight!). Enjoy!**

 **-Blue**


	3. Ticklish

**Ticklish**

 **Hiccup POV**

The breeze rustled her hair affectionately and she smiled, settling her hands behind her head. Grass surrounding her and she glanced over at Toothless who was running around happily, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he chased the butterflies. She laughed and rolled onto her side to watch him, smiling everytime he looked back at her with a gummy grin. He perked up for a moment, before going back to chasing after the little winged creature that he was preying upon.

Hands grabbed at her sides and Hiccup shrieked, turning around to kick her attacker in the crotch. They caught her foot and she scowled.

"Gotcha."

Ash let go of her foot and she glared at him. "I hate you."

"You don't."

She scowled and turned away for a moment, when she glanced at him again, he was beside her and grinning softly as he kicked his boots and his socks off. "I've been searching all day for you."

Hiccup gestured for him to continue, looking at him with pure interest, despite the fact that he almost made her scream bloody murder a few moments before.

"I didn't know where you were and no one else did, so I thought that you might've gotten kidnapped again. You almost gave me a heartattack," Ash muttered.

She tugged her lips up at the corners and laughed. "I always have someone trying to kidnap me don't I?"

"Basically."

She laughed and lay back down in the grass, staring at the sky. The clouds were wispy, like tendrils of smoke.

"It's nice today isn't it?"

"I guess so…"

Hiccup glanced over at him. "It's nice and warm, the sun isn't too harsh and there's a nice breeze. It's perfect."

"Why are we talking about the weather?"

"Because I'm starting a conversation."

Rolling onto her stomach, she stared at her dragon fondly as he chased a new target- Stormfly- around the cove. She looked over to Ash to find him doing the same, smiling as Toothless jumped on his dragon's back, pulling them both to the ground. Hiccup laughed softly and sat up again, stretching her arms above her head and letting them fall onto her head.

"This is the first time I've been to the cove for ages," Ash said softly.

She smiled at him as he continued, "it has some nice memories."

Like when she kidnapped him and accidentally took him to the dragon nest… and got a kiss on the cheek for it. Hiccup felt her cheeks flush at the memory and turned away from sight.

"Hey… are you okay, Hiccup?"

"I'm fine," she said.

His arms were wound around her waist and she stiffened feeling his fingers drum against her stomach.

"Don't you dare, Ash."

"Sorry, but you shouldn't lie to me."

She shrieked the moment that his fingers started moving ferociously against her stomach as he grinned demonically, moving them to her sides. Hiccup's shrieks grew louder and she writhered and flailed about trying to get away from him. He didn't relent, happily taking advantage of her vulnerability. If she could she'd glare, but at that moment the only thought crossing her mind was getting away from him. She punched her fist randomly at his leg, the action making his grip loosen. And she jolted to her feet running away from him.

The dragons were watching them curiously, having stopped their playful attempts of fighting. Hiccup grabbed the edge of Toothless' wing and wrapped it around herself.

"Don't let him get me!"

The moment that Ash's footsteps were within a few metres, the damn dragon ripped his wing from her grip and pushed her towards the viking. His fingers found her sides immediately and she squealed trying to keep her knees from buckling. Between laughs she swore at her dragon for betraying her, but Toothless simply laughed at her with his weird dragon guffaw.

"A-ASH!"

"Yes?"

"S-S-ST-OP!" she cried.

He laughed. "Nope, I have you at my mercy."

Her knees finally gave way and they tumbled to the ground in a tangle of limbs. Ash rolled on top of her and stopped tickling her, letting her breathe. Looking up at him with a heaving chest and a short glare.

"I… hate… you."

Ash laughed at smiled at her.

"Now get off," she said.

He cupped his chin in a classic thinking pose and shook his head. "This is actually really comfortable."

"For you; I have a one hundred and thirty pound boy sitting on my stomach."

"It's _man_ , not _boy_."

She laughed and shook her head. "Need more muscle for that title."

Ash's face darkened, glaring down at her. Her heart speed up. It didn't skip, it just sped up.

"What're trying to say, Hiccup?"

"Nothing."

With as much strength as she could muster while he was distracted, she kicked over, flipping Ash onto his back and landing on him with a cheeky grin.

"Didn't expect that aye?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Nope."

She grinned and laid down on his stomach. He stiffened and she giggled, lifting her head up.

"What are you doing?" he muttered.

"Getting comfy."

Ash frowned at her even more. "And why are you getting comfortable on me?"  
"You're cushiony."

He was frowning so intently at her, that she wanted to kiss the cute little crease on his nose. She thought for a moment before sitting her head on top of her arms and biting her lip.

"Did anything weird happen when I was sleeping the other day?"

"What do you mean?"

Hiccup sighed. "Ruff mentioned something about me acting weird when I was sleeping, did we run into the riders?"

Ash sheepishly nodded, "Yeah…"

"What did I do!"

"Calm down, it wasn't anything bad… you just kept cooing and purring like Toothless and um… nuzzled my neck a bit," he said.

She nuzzled him? Her self-esteem fell into a bottomless pit.

Hiccup buried her face into his chest. "Oh gods! I'll never live this down will I?"

Ash must've panicked, because his hand flew to her hair to stoke it. "It's okay, you were asleep no one is judging; basically everyone's done worse drunk then you sleeping anyway."

"I'm the chief's daughter though!"

Her chin was lifted up to meet Ash's frown, "Why do you only ever make a point of being the chief's daughter when it doesn't matter?"

"What?"

"When it matters you don't care about being the chief's daughter and then when it doesn't you do."

She cast her eyes downward as he sat up with her still sitting on top of him. Hiccup felt the question race through her brain until she found the answer.

"Because I'm stupid."

"You're not stupid," he scoffed.

She glanced at him to find him staring at her with a frustrated expression on his nicely sculpted face. It puzzled her- the smartest viking on Berk- that he looked so annoyed. He shouldn't have. He didn't need to.

Hiccup leant closer to him inquizitively.

"Why are you so frustrated?" she asked quietly.

He sighed and ran a hand through his bangs (a habit that she knew he did when he was irritated), looking at her softly with an exasperated look. Her breath caught in her throat momentarily at that look, only regaining oxygen when she forced herself to remember the basic motions of breathing.

"You… you don't seem to get it into that little head of yours that you're status doesn't matter and it bugs me, because you're one of the greatest people I know. You aren't flawless, but you're Hiccup which is better… I think."

She smiled. "You're not used to this complimenting thing are you?"

"I did pretty well the other day."

Hiccup nodded and grinned more widely.

Their faces were so close and she felt her eyelids flutter, looking at his lips for a moment. When she glanced at his eyes they were staring at her mouth. She leant forward towards him, her hands finding themselves buried in his tunic. Hiccup's eyes fluttered shut.

His mouth was soft.

That was her first thought when she felt the soft pressure against her lips, a hand resting on the nape of her neck and another slung around her waist. She thought his lips would be chapped; he seemed the sort to forget to drink. But no they were soft and she liked that. It was gentle and sweet, her hands loosening their grip on Ash's shirt. So a clue of what she was doing, she just tried to make sure that her lips moved, smiling at how they molded together so tentively.

She pulled away after a moment, feeling a little smile find it's way on her face. Ash was grinning wildly at her, arm still slung around her waist, his other hand playing with the hair at the nape of her neck. Hiccup nibbled at her lip, thoughtfully. Did that really just happen? Her lips tingled and Ash's thumb brushed against her cheek. Yep, definitely happened.

Just to confirm she asked, "Did that just happen?"

He chuckled and pressed his lips to her hairline. "Yep."

With a question in mind, she cast her eyes downward for a moment.

Blushing softly, she peered at him. "Um… how… how was I?"

"Brilliant, but needs a bit of work. Might have to practise."

"Oh? And who would I practise with?"

He grinned face getting dangerously close to hers. "Maybe a blonde who apparently doesn't have enough muscle."

"Mmm he needs to work out more."

Ash laughed softly and leant in, their lips barely brushing.

Then Toothless jumped between them throwing them apart and advancing on Hiccup. She giggled and pushed him away, but the dragon was persistant in getting a kiss today (their endeavours had made the poor reptile jealous as Hel).

Hands grabbed her by the waist and and threw her over a broad shoulder, sprinting away with a Night Fury who was following in a lazy pursuit. She frowned, but the sight of the viking's behind wasn't a bad one so she simply enjoyed the view. Hiccup jolted on the viking's shoulder, Toothless still chasing after them.

"No, Toothless! She's mine! All mine!" Ash yelled.

"Hey! Who said I was yours?"

Hiccup heard him laugh as he kept running. "The guy that you just kissed."

"Shut up!" she hit his back as he chuckled at her response.

She lifted head to see Toothless running after them, tongue lolling out of his mouth. Laughing she waved to the dragon teasingly. The dragon smiled a gummy grin at her. And sped up.

"We're about to get caught, Ash."

"Okay," she heard the cheek in his voice, "plan B it is then."

He changed direction and a frown tainted her brow. "What's plan- AGHH!"

She was was in midair for a moment and landed in the lake. Head submerged underwater for a second, she pushed with her legs to surface her head above the water, feet on tiptoes.

"ASH!"

"It was the only way, Hiccup."

Swimming to the edge of the lake, she was thankful that she'd taken off her boots and worn a tunic rather than her leather armor. She settled her arms on the edge and smiled at him, lifting one hand up.

"Since you threw me in could you give me a hand?"

He laughed and nodded, reaching down. "Sure."

The second she could, Hiccup grabbed his hand and yanked him into the water with her. He fell in beside her with a short scream. Toothless was laughing with Stormfly squawking humorously at her rider. When Ash resurfaced, he growled at Hiccup while she giggled away. His hands grabbed her around the middle and brought her against his chest.

"Cheeky today aren't we?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, _really_?"

"Don't get sarcastic with me, missy!"

"Oh and why not?" Hiccup challenged.

"Because I could tickle you again," he murmured into her ear, brushing his nose against her neck.

She stiffened slightly. "I hate you."

"You've already said that."

"Fine, I like you a lot."

Hiccup felt him smile against her neck. "That's more like it."

Smiling, she scooped some water with her hands and threw it backwards into Ash's face. The water dripped down his chin onto the crown of her head.

"Oh we're going to play that game are we?"

She nodded and he released her before he splashed a gush of water into her face. Laughing she did the same and stuck her tongue out at him, water trickling into her mouth when he attacked again.

They spend another fifteen minutes like this, teasingly splashing harsh torrents of water at each other. That was until Ash lunged forward and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her up so that she had to place her hands on his shoulders for support, arms dead straight. She laughed and he brought her back down, keeping her high enough that he had to lean up to share another sweet kiss with her before they exited the lake.

The dragons dried their feet with a gentle burn, letting the two start walking back to the village with everything soaked but their boot clad feet (or foot in one case). Stormfly and Toothless could be heard cooing and squawking happily as they watched the too, Ash and Hiccup smiling at the noises.

Even the dragons shipped it.

 **Okay so this chapter is a good three hundred words shorter than my other ones, but they're finally together! YAY! Writing the lake scene was one of my favourite parts to write in this chapter as well as the awkward "Um... how was I?" scene. Hiccup being a sweetie. And Ash is really affectionate and possessive, but I think we saw this coming; he was bound to be possessive it was in his genetic coding as normal girl Astrid why wouldn't it be in him as he's a boy?**

 **And um... I'M POSTING THE REST OF THE STORY TODAY!**

 **I know I said I'd do it by Tuesday, but I finished the epilogue last night and finished editing this morning, so I decided that I'd do it today! Hope you like this and the rest of the story!**

 **-Blue**


	4. Nicknames

**Nicknames**

 **Hiccup POV**

Hiccup balanced unsteadily on Ash's shoulders. The advancement had happened when they were halfway up to the village, mostly dry from the warm sun and sweet breeze. She'd been leaning against him for support, slightly drained from the tickling, the water fight and the walk to the village. So he decided that she'd get another ride from her personal chaffeur. It was nice with Ash's hand lifted for her to hold the other supporting her good leg, rather than holding onto his head for support and risking the safety of his neck. His hand was warm and sweetly entwined with hers.

"Are you sure this is okay? Your arm must be getting sore."

She listened to the nice sound of him chuckling, "Hiccup, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Are you really, _really_ sure?"

Ash sighed. "You worry too much."

"Well I'm sorry for being concerned for your wellbeing," she huffed, almost crossing her arms.

He grabbed back onto her hand hastily before she could topple of his back. She thanked him quietly, squeezing his hand for reassurance. Turning her head slightly to see their dragons chasing each other behind them.

She could feel him smiling.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine, sweetheart."

Cheeks burning, she tensed. He'd just called her "sweetheart". She felt the need to have a heart attack again. Gods, Ash you're evil, her brain murmured.

"D-did you just call me 'sweetheart'?" Hiccup asked softly.

"Yep."

She gripped his hand slightly tighter when she wobbled on his shoulders. "Why?"

"Because I like you a lot more than just liking you."

If Hiccup had the balance she'd kiss him… and she told him that with a slight stutter.

"I expect that kiss later you know," he said teasingly.

"And you'll get it."

He chuckled, "Now do you like the nickname or do I need to think of another one? Because I've got a couple up my sleeve like: beautiful, gorgeous, love, bab-"

"No. I like sweetheart."

"Okay, but I can promise that I'll probably call you 'beautiful' at one point," Ash said.

She grinned. "I'm okay with that."

They (well Ash) started walking up the steps to the Great Hall, hand still holding hers. She worried that carrying her up the steps was too much, but he reassured her that he was fine adding a "sweetheart" to soften her anxieties. He started making dumb jokes and saying chessy pick-up to make her laugh, each one relaxing her more and more,every one of them more stupid than the last. She swore that she was going to get the hiccups (yes that beloved irony) if he kept making her laugh.

Be the time that he opened the giant door, she was still giggling her head off. The Great Hall was silent as they walked over to the table where their friends were, Ash setting her down carefully with a tiny smile, Toothless and Stormfly running over to the other dragons. Hiccup frowned and looked around as she sat down, everyone turning away when they saw her looking, returning to their conversations. She looked over to Ruffnut still with her brow creased.

"Why did everyone go silent?"

"Because you were sitting on his shoulders, grinning like idiots and holding hands," she said with a huge mischievous smile.

Hiccup's cheeks flushed and she started hurriedly eating the food that sat in front of her, not daring to look up. She heard them chuckling and Ash grabbed her hand under the table. Shoulders relaxing, she offered a thankful smile to him before going back to eating.

"OI! Don't leave us in the dark!" Snotlout grumbled, the other's nodding in agreement.

Cheeks reddening, she looked down at her food. "You say it."

"Okay. Hiccup and I are dating."

They were silent for a long moment and she found herself clutching Ash's hand tighter, his squeezing hers supportively. Wild grins broke out on their faces and they shouted. "IT'S ABOUT TIME!"  
It must've been a codephrase or something, because the entire hall burst into cheers and she smiled happily, leaning into Ash's shoulder in relief as everyone celebrated.

"That could've gone badly," she murmured.

He pressed a quick kiss into her hair. "But it didn't."

When they looked back at the others they were handing money around. She rolled her eyes at them, Ash glaring furiously.

"You _bet_ on us?"  
"Yeah, we only made a new bet a few of days ago. Ruff won though… she said half a week," Snotlout said, glaring at the blonde girl.

She shrugged. "He was obviously going to make a move soon and if he didn't Hiccup was. Do you know how much she's blabbed about you? If I didn't support your relationship so much, I would've hit her."

Ash turned back to Hiccup with a smile. "Oh really?"

She pushed him away by his cheek. "Don't start."

"If it helps, he was just as bad."

Hiccup smiled at Fishlegs and turned back to her boyfriend. "Oh really?"

"You can shut up."

"Make me," she snapped.

He drew closer to her face teasingly, only to have her push him away shyly. Ash seemed to understand well enough and kissed her hand gently.

Then Ruffnut leapt forward with a little squeal and grabbed Hiccup's arms, yanking one of them out of Ash's grip. She winked at him and turned her attention back to the auburn haired girl, grinning like a maniac.

"So how did it happen?"

The other's leant forward, obviously curious too. "Well um… could you do it?"

He pouted. "Am I that embarrassing?"

"Yes."

The twins, Fishlegs and Snotlout laughed again as Ash reached over to tickle her.

She leapt further away and wrapped her arms around herself protectively. "You've already tickled me enough today."

"So it started or ended with a tickle war?"

Ash grinned. "Started but it was pretty one sided."

Hiccup punched his shoulder breathing deeply before recounting what had happened and explaining it in as much detail as she dared, deliberately not delving into the kissing. They all listened intently, sending each other knowing looks while she talked, making sure not to interrupt. As she talked she felt Ash wrapping an arm around her waist and slowly pulling her into his side. He was radiating a sweet warmth that she couldn't resist curling lightly into his side. When Hiccup finished her story she felt her face burning, hiding her face in her boyfriend's side.

"You threw her in a lake?" Snotlout asked.

"Yes."

He grinned pervertedly. "Any reason for that? Maybe a nice bath if ya know what I- OW! Geez!"

Hiccup was smiling truimphiantly, proud of her little stunt, Ruff, Tuff, Fishlegs and Ash laughing.

"I swear to the gods if you say anything like that again, I'm going to kick you in that nice spot between your legs."

Snotlout nodded quickly, leaning down to rub his shin.

"You kick really hard," he muttered.

"That's the point."

Fishlegs was smiling once the stunt's thrill died down, lifting his fist to Ash. "Smooth moves."

He grinned and bumped his fist against the obese blonde's. Hiccup felt her lips tug up and found Tuffnut staring at her weirdly.

"Um… why are you staring at me,Tuff?"

"Because it's unfair that Ash got the prettiest girlfriend," he said.

She blushed and the blonde beside her nudged her lightly. "See? I told you that people think that you're pretty."

"I thought you were kidding."

Ruffnut and Fishlegs started freaking out about the relevation, the plump boy's calm demeanor melting into a freak out session. It was sort of funny to watch.

Hiccup smiled at the synchronised fangirling (Fish was squealing too much to be considered a fanboy), leaning up to whisper to Ash, "How long for them to get together?"

"Give it a month."

She nodded and watching them calm down, doing weird "breathe in, breathe out" things that she didn't recognise.

Her cousin turned to the new couple with a smile. Hiccup's heart ran cold at that smile.

"You have to deal with Stoic ya know?"

Her heart must've stopped for a moment. "Oh gods… I'm so sorry! I completely forgot! What if he tries to kill-"

"Calm down, I've already talked to your dad."

"When?!" she poked a slim finger into his chest, frowning at him.

He grinned. "Yesterday… before and after the piggyback thing…"

"What did he say?! Did he threaten you?"

"No, he was pretty supportive… and um… over-enthusiastic."

That look on his face worried her. "What did he say exactly?"

He didn't answer for a long moment taking steady breaths. Everyone at the table waited for him to answer, antisipation building.

Ash whispered into her ear, denying the others the chance to know, "He said that I should tell you my feelings and that… that he wanted grandchildren."

Her face heated up and she buried her face into his shirt, trying to hide her flushed face. The riders talked over her trying to ask what he'd said, Ash ignoring everyone and trying to comfort his embarrassed girlfriend.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ash whispered into her ear, breath tickling her neck.

"Yeah… gods that's embarrassing though."

"Hey it's okay, it'll-"

The door was thrown open again and she turned to see the chief walk in with a large smile. She felt her mood darken, her eyes narrowing. Questions now dead everyone's attention was on Hiccup, fuming with annoyance. Embarrassment and fury coursed through her, making her body quiver as her blood pressure rose. Seconds after her father sat down, she stood from her seat, getting tugged back by Ash.

"Hiccup," he muttered warningly.

She yanked her arm out of his grip and stormed over to her father. Gods, he was a dead man. He honestly had to tell the guy that she liked (maybe even loved, before they were even _together_ no less) that he wanted grandchildren?

When Hiccup got to his table where Gobber, Spitelout and his other close friends already drinking some meade.

"Hi Dad."

He smiled at her beneath his thick beard, eyes surrounded by smile crinkles. "Hello, Hiccup."

"Now can I ask why you decided to tell Ash that you wanted grandchildren the other day?"

Her voice was thick with poison and a harshness that made the table quieten.

"Well… ya see Hiccup… um… Gobber?"

The two limbed man shrugged, grinning. "Yer words, Stoic, not mine. Yer grave."

"Oh gods."

She slammed her hand down onto the table, the entire hall going silent.

Hand stinging she glared at her father, Hiccup ground out, "I swear if it wasn't for what had happened today I'd send Toothless at you; my own father or not."

Stoic frowned, turning to the rest of the table for answers.

Grinning like Toothless on dragon nip, Gobber proudly said, "I don't know the details, but yer daughter and Ash walked in together, with 'er sitting on 'is shoulders and holding 'er hand. It was heartwarming I tell ya. And then the other young 'uns yelled out: 'IT'S ABOUT TIME!' which as ya know were our codewords fer when it happened."

The ginger haired man was very quiet for a moment before he leapt out of his seat. "GOOD ON YA LADDIE!"

She looked over to Ash who was smiling slightly, sending her a charming grin that made her heart speed up for a moment.

Tree trunk arms wrapped around her waist squeezing her to death.

"D-dad! C-Ca-n't- bre-breathe!"

Stoic released her apologising, but grinned widely at her. "Go back to ya lad, Hiccup."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Oh and Hiccup?"

She turned back to him. "Ya will make a good chief with that temper, but you need to work at stayin' angry."

"I'm pretty sure you don't want me to stay angry."

Chuckling, Stoic shooed her away towards her table smiling widely.

She jogged back and sat next to Ash again, smiling to herself.

Tuff was grinning. "You're lucky; your girlfriend can scare the bejibbers out of the entire village."

"I know… I really wasn't expecting that…"

"That translates to; he thought it was really hot," Ruff said.

Hiccup blushed, but turned to him for confirmation. He nodded lightly with a tiny grin, her heart speeding up a bit, looking at her hands. She felt his hand grab hers, his thumb rubbing over the backof her hand softly.

Eating her food (which had been sitting there half finished), she ate one handed with her other hand in possession of Ash –who seemed a lot happier than he should've. The others were talking amongst each other, Ruff and Fishlegs discussing a shipname and Tuff and Snotlout were having a thumb war. She leant into him, smiling as his arms wrapped around her waist. He pressed a small kiss against her cheek and she grinned. This was nice, she decided, being able to lean into him peacefully, his arms wrapped around her waist.

And knowing that Ash Hofferson was her's? That was maybe even better.

His arms unwound from her waist and she felt his hands in her hair.

With a little frown, she tried to turn only to have her hair tugged. "Don't move."

"Why?"

Another quick cheek kiss. "Because I'm trying something."

She smiled. "Okay."

Hiccup felt his hands tugging gently on little locks of hair, the feeling soothing and sweet. Humming softly to a tune that she remembered her dad singing once while she waited, his fingers becoming slightly more tender. His hands were so nice in her hair that she felt herself leaning against him absently, before righting herself.

"In a minute you can do that, sweetheart."

"Okay," she mumured.

It was another twenty seconds or so before his hands left her hair and he whispered, "Done," into her ear. She felt her hair to feel two tiny plaits in the underlayers of her hair on the right side. They were tied with leather, but she wasn't overly concerned about where he'd gotten them from.

"Thank you."

"No problem," he slung his arm around her waist again, letting her lean into him.

When the others' conversation evaporated they turned the couple, smiling at them cuddling sweetly.

Snotlout stood up abruptedly and started walking out. "I'm sorry but the sweetness in the air is starting to choke me!"

With a little giggle, she waved to her cousin as he walked out the door, children and parents leaving as well. She saw Almere grinning over at her, waving frantically. Her hand waved back out of habit and the little girl asked her parents something before running over.

"Hello!" she grinned at everyone with her helmet getting lopsided again.

The riders couldn't help but all smile at the little girl.

Almere flung her arms around Hiccup. "It happened!"

"What happened?"

"You and Ash!"

She laughed softly and took off Almere's helmet, pressing a kiss to the little girl's forehead. "Yep."

"How'd it happen?"

Hiccup felt less reluctant to tell the little girl than the others, making sure to tell the story well enough to satisfy her wild imagination. She glared at Ash and Toothless a couple of times while she did to earn a giggle from Almere. The entire table was silent until she finished, the little blonde clapping happily and turning to Ash. Then the little viking girl threw herself at the man beside Hiccup, almost making him fall into the table. When he returned the hug with the gentlest of faces, the heir of Berk felt her heart melt slightly. She whispered something into his ear and he ruffled her hair with a nod, placed her helmet on her head and watched her run back over to her parents.

She turned to him with a tiny frown. "What'd she say to you?"

He grinned and pressed a little kiss against Hiccup's forehead. "She said that if I hurt you, she'd throw an axe at my face."

"I'd probably do the same."

"You can lift an axe?" she punched his shoulder.

Ash laughed and tried to amend it by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back into his side. She crossed her arms stubbornly, pouting. Fishlegs, Ruff and Tuff laughed.

"Wow, a couple of hours in and you've already annoyed her," Tuff said.

Hiccup could hear the male twin being ceremoniously punched by his sister and a cry of pain. A light puff of air in the form of a sigh fell on her neck and she felt him pressing his nose where his breath was.

"I'm sorry; I was only teasing…"

Smiling, she spun around and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.

With this look of pure shock on his face he stared at her as she giggled.

"You were faking it… fakers get tickled, sweetheart…"

She jumped out of his and arms and flew off the seat running away from the overly attractive young man. Zipping around tables and apologising profoundly to people, she was fast enough that he was a good six or so metres behind her. Everyone was watching the two of them, no one muttering a word. Then of course Ash jumped over a table nearly grabbing her around the waist, his fingers brushing against her sides for a moment before she bolted away with a little squeal. She skidded around a table, her prothestic almost giving way. With a curse, she tried to speed up, but she was tired and her leg ached, the stump of what should've been her upper shin throbbing lightly.

Arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her into a hard chest, giving her only a moment's notice before tickling the least sensitive part of her stomach. She frowned a bit, but laughed as his fingers jabbed at her abdomenal. When he stopped, she was still breathing heavily as they walked back to the table, Ash's arm slung around her waist.

"Why didn't you go for a really ticklish spot?" she whispered.

"Because nobody else but me needs to know your weakness."

Hiccup smiled and grabbed his hand swinging it.

When they sat down again the three other riders stared at them weirdly.

"What?"

"You're one bipolar couple; one moment you're mad at each other the next you guys are are back to being all lovey dovey," Fishlegs pointed out, "and that's just in a couple of hours of being official."

Hiccup smiled. "We're weird friends, we're bound to be a weird couple."

They considered this for a moment before nodding, excepting the answer while Tuff just looked confused. But than again he always looked confused, so it wasn't anything new.

Ruff jumped forward with this wildly curious look in her eyes. That look frightened the heck out of her and she leant into Ash out of instinct.

"You never told us if Ash is a good kisser! Or vice versa!"

Hiccup felt her face burst with colour and looked down into her lap.

"You're not giving us a break are you?" Ash asked quietly and she looked up to see his face a light shade of pink.

They were all leaning forward in antisipation with a curt nod of their heads.

"Yes."

"What?" Fishlegs asked.

"Yes, Ash is a good kisser," she mumbled and buried her face in his chest.

Hiccup could tell that he was smiling and hit his arm lightly.

"What about Hiccup, aye?" Tuff snickered.

A soft kiss was pressed into her hair. "Better than good."

She felt her face heat up more, knowing that the others were accepting the answers with semi-satisfied faces and heard the chuckles.

Hearing a yawn, she looked up to find Ash blinking slightly drowsily.

She smiled, "How much have you done today?"

"A lot."

Shaking her head at him, Hiccup edged out of his arms as his protests. "You need to go home."

"Fine, do you want me to walk you?" he asked softly, standing up.

She shook her head, "I'm staying here for a bit longer, but thanks."

"That's okay."

The viking warrior leant down, resting a hand on her cheek and kissing the top of her head.

"Night, sweetheart."

She smiled and tilted her head up, pressing her lips to the edge of his jaw. "Night."

His lips tugged up sweetly and he walked towards the door, Stormfly bounding after him. She swore she was forgetting something… she leapt to her feet and ran after him as he was about his dragon. Ash was frowning at her, standing beside Stormfly.

"What are y-"

Hiccup grabbed him by his collar and tugged him down for a gentle kiss. The hall erupted in wolfwhistles and cheers. She pulled away with a little giggle, Ash's face a priceless one. He smiled at her, a goofy one that shouldn't have suited his face, but still did, because he was Ash Hofferson and he was stupidly attractive.

"What was that one for?" he asked her softly.

"I owed you one remember?"

He grinned and she turned away waving as she walked to the table.

"HEY HICCUP?"

"YEAH?"

"SEE YOU TOMORROW, SWEETHEART!" and he mounted his dragon with a killer grin and flew off before she could puff her cheeks out in embarrassment and yell at him.

With a mortified huff she went back to her table, everyone looking at her.

"I SWEAR IF YOU WON'T STOP LOOKING AT ME, I WON'T FIX ANYBODY'S WEAPONS FOR A MONTH!"

They turned back to their conversations hurriedly and Hiccup sighed.

"So… he calls you 'sweetheart', aye? That's cute."

She smiled at Ruff, eyes going back to the door where her boyfriend had just left through. When she turned back to her friend with a terential grin, she nodded.

"It is isn't it?"

 **YAY! Last chapter! The epilogue is being posted within the next ten minutes so get ready! This was an awesome chapter to write and I've been curious on how I'd write angry Hiccup or extremely embarrassed Hiccup, so this is the result! And then there's Ash being a bae (I'm ashamed for using that word, but it's the most accurate way to describe him in this chapter) and being a complete cutie; "better than good" ^ - ^**

 **So enjoy and wait for the final chapter of this story! Yay!**

 **-Blue**


	5. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

 **Ash POV- Six Months Later…**

He stepped into the forge, looking for a certain auburn haired girl. After a two week long trip with Fishlegs, Snotlout, Tuffnut and some of the other male vikings, all he wanted was Hiccup. Ash wanted her to smile at him when she saw him, kiss him sweetly and offer to have a relaxing afternoon like she normally did, sometimes cooking him some food if she was in a good state of mind. That would be nice.

But even if she didn't he'd still love her to bits. Because she was Hiccup. And he loved her from her sarcasm to her bursts of anger to her cheek.

Looking around, he heard her round the back, hammering away at something. With a tiny smile, Ash walked around a wall separating her from his sight, breath getting caught in his throat.

She stood there legs braced, a red hot piece of metal being pounded into a straight flat shape, sweat dripping down her neck. Her shortsleeved shirt clung to her frame, the back soaked, her "shorts" sticking to the curve of her thighs. Hiccup's hair? It had grown since they'd started dating and fell just past her shoulders. But right now? It was in an adorable crown-high ponytail, the longest lock barely reaching the nape of her neck.

The starstruck viking swore that he was the luckiest guy in the world.

Hiccup finally seemed to notice his presence looking up at him. But when an expression settled on her face it wasn't a happy one. She set the hammer down and used tongs to dump the sword in a bucket of water. To be honest he was terrified. That look wasn't one that translated to anyhing good in any langauge. She stormed over to him, her semi-athletic frame standing strong and steady.

Definitely not what he'd expected to happen.

The moment that she grabbed him by the collar of the shirt to pull him down to eye level, Ash decided that this could easily go down in a good way or a bad way.

"You," she seethed, "left for two weeks and told me with only a day's notice, even telling me that it was for only three days. I woke up every day excited thinking that you were still here and then you weren't. After the four day mark I got scared. I kept thinking that something b-bad happened," her voice was starting to break and he felt it stabbing him in the chest, "and then I thought about how I wouldn't get to hear you call me 'sweetheart' anymore, how you wouldn't give me piggybacks when I'm exhausted, how you wouldn't tackle me in a hug, how you wouldn't sneak in a kiss when you could, how you wouldn't be there to fall asleep next to in the cove."

Hiccup looked at him with the most broken look he had ever seen her wear.

 _"_ _I thought that you were gone!"_ she started beating at his chest with her little fists in hysteria and he wouldn't stop her for the world.

He'd made her break like this. Ash had never meant to hurt Hiccup even though he always had emotionally. When she was still an outcast, he sometimes saw the heartbroken look on her face. But he'd ignored those looks. At the time status was more important than anything.

When she stopped hitting him, she fell into his chest with a sob, clutching his shirt. Ash's arms wound around her and he pressed gentle kisses into her hair.

"I'm so sorry. I swear to the gods that I thought it was only three days. And I promise I won't leave you ever."

She nodded still crying, trying to stop her sobs. He knelt slightly so that he could gently kiss away the tears on her cheeks, the taste of salt trickling onto his tongue.

"Twenty eight kisses," he whispered.

A little crease appeared between her eyebrows as he used his thumb to wipe away any stray tears at the corners of her eyes. "What?"

"I kiss you at least two times a day," Ash murmured, "and we missed fourteen days."

She managed a smile at him. "You still haven't said it yet."

"Said what?"

"That you like me a lot more than just liking me."

He chuckled. "Well… I normally would but I've just been a wuss saying that I only like you that much."

"Oh? Then how much is it?"

Arms winding around her more comfortably, he let their foreheads touch each others, the light layer of sweat on her's a familiar feeling. She was waiting intently for his answer, looking into his eyes with her own forest green orbs.

"I love you more than anything," her eyes widened, "and I think I have since I was ten and before that I'd had a crush on you since I was five."

He watched the happiest look on her face that he'd ever seen appear, her arms winding around his neck and burying into his hair.

"Gods…" she breathed, "I love you too."

"Thank gods otherwise that would've been awkward."

Hiccup laughed. "Just kiss me already doofus."

"'Course, sweetheart."

Hiccup tugged her down, pressing her lips against his. He sighed contently, tugging her closer with an arm around her waist. She was smiling into the kiss, her hands pulling his mouth closer to her. The smell of sweat eminated from her, but he didn't mind at all (he probably smelt like sweat all the time; that in itself spoke volumes) simply continuing. Slightly chapped lips that he knew was from the heat of the forge and her forgetfulness. He grinned; such a Hiccup thing to do.

She was frowning at him and he noticed that her face was a lot further away than it had been before.

"Sorry, I was just noticing another little thing that I love about you."

Hiccup grinned. "And what was that?"

He tapped her lips with the tip of his finger and her hands flew to touch her mouth. Ash laughed as she looked at him in disbelief.

"But… they're chapped..."

"Yes, but it's also a very Hiccup thing about you."

She laughed. "That I forget to drink?"

He nodded and the auburn haired girl's lips tugged at the edges.

"You're a weirdo," arms wound around his neck and a nose found the hollow area near his collarbone.

"But I'm your weirdo remember?"

She giggled, before she stiffened and pushed him away, crossing her arms. His brow creased in confusion, lines printing onto his forehead. Sharp green eyes. Even though he heard that her eyes were more like Valka's than Stoic's, he saw the chief-like sharpness of hers at that moment.

"I'm mad at you."

He rubbed between his brows. It was a one of her mood-swing days.

Hiccup was staring daggers at him, before she stormed out of the forge. In a frantic haste, he ran after her, his hand combing through his hair in aggravation. When he tried to grab her wrist, she yanked it away from him. Gods, he was buried six feet under.

Then Toothless bound out of nowhere, grinning dopily before his gummy smile disappeared at his retreating rider. Ash thanked the gods and gestured to his girlfriend mouthing, "grab her". Toothless grinned and ran over to his rider, grabbing her by the back of her shirt and dragged her back over to Ash.

He ignored the fact that some of her shirt had ridden up as she scowled at him. "You're using my dragon against me now too?"

"He chose to do it; I just asked. Now are you going to listen to me or not?"

She gestured to how she was being suspended in midair by dragon teeth. "Do I have much choice?"

"Nope," Ash grinned.

"Put me down, Bud."

The dragon set her down carefully, nuzzling her cheek as he wrapped his tail around her middle to prevent her from escaping.

"Speak."

He sighed. "Okay, I know you hate me for not telling you the length of the trip, but I thought it was a short one. And you hate me for putting you through so much stress and worry… and for acting like I could get away with it. I'm so sorry though. I swear on my grandmother's grave that I didn't mean to hurt you. I'd rather stab myself than deliberately hurt you," he breathed deeply, "and I can promise you that I wasn't lying when I said I love you."

Toothless' ears perked up and looked down at his rider who was silent and looking at the ground.

It was another long minute before she spoke again, looking up with softened eyes. "I hate you."

He grinned jumping forward, picking her up by her waist and spinning her around, before bringing her down to mumble against her lips, "Love you too."

Hiccup giggled and turned to give her dragon an appreciative kiss, but he would've have that. She laughed as Ash growled at Toothless possessively, his arms tightening around her, his head resting on her shoulder. Her laugh; gorgeous, but not his current issue. No he is the alpha male, not Toothless and she is his alpha female.

"Back off, reptile," he snarled.

She punched his arm with a little frown. "Stop being all possessive! I'm not a thing!"

"But you're _my_ girlfriend and _my_ is a possessive word, sweetheart."

Hiccup scowled. "If you weren't cute when you're being logical, I'd hit you again."

"Nice to know you think my logic is sexy."

"I did not say _sexy_ ," she said indignantly.

Ash frowned. "But the others guys said that girls normally say _cute_ instead of _hot_ , because they're too shy to say it."

"That's true, but it doesn't mean that I specifically meant that word in particular!"

A pout made a way onto his face (Toothless wandered off with a huff, clearly not interested in watching a couple fight). "Don't you think I'm sexy?"

"You are, but that's not the point!"

After a moment her cheeks went pink and she started to walk away awkwardly.

He grinned widely and ran after her.

"Did you just say-"

"Yes I did! Shut up!" her cheeks should've caused a fire, her freckles barely visible beneath the red flush.

Ash wrapped his arms around her waist happily and lifted her up, to sit on his right shoulder. She squealed in protest, but held onto the hand that she was offered, resting her other on his head.

"ASH!"

He chuckled. "I'm sorry, but you looked like you were about to fall over in embarrassment."

"I probably was, but that's not the point!"

"Think of something new to say, sweetheart," Ash teased.

A gentle kiss was clumsily placed on his head. "Love you."

"Much better."

Ash stood there for another long moment staring at the light dustings of clouds that masked the sun. He squinted to look with a smile, Hiccup's hand warm in his, his other arm wrapped above her knees to keep her anchored. Her hand fiddled with his hair for a moment and he relished in the feeling.

"Hey Ash?"

"Yeah?" he asked softly.

"Can you take me home?"

"Sure," he started walking in that direction, "why?"

"I need a bath."

He grinned at the opportunity to tease her. Perfect.

"Can I join-"

"NO! You cannot join me, Ash!" he got slapped upside the head.

Cringing, he retaliated. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! No damaging the transport!"

"Well I wouldn't have to if my transport wasn't a cheeky troll."

"Pretty sexy troll, though."

"ASH!" she shrieked.

To anyone else who was watching them, they would've seen a couple in a lover's quarrel, but if Ash could see them, he'd see a bright future. One that might grant Stoic's wish of grandchildren and the rise of a brilliant new chief.

And that gold proposal pendant in his pocket, pressed against the side of his leg gently reminding him that he still had a task to do.

 **The End**

 **A fortnight of work has finally come to an end and I loved writing this! This was a really short chapter for me to right, but I thought short and sweet is best for an epilogue and to have that unexpected twist of Hiccup getting angry and Ash being possessive would be nice.**

 **Those last two scenes with the "sexy" thing and Ash being a cheeky troll were so great to write and I was grinning the entire time while I wrote it.**

 **And no I'm not doing a proposal scene or a wedding scene, because I think it would be nice to be left implied that they do get married (Hiccup isn't going to say no, because** ** _come on_** **she's liked him since she was a toddler) and there's also the fact that if anyone has read about viking marriage they would know what happens after the wedding traditionally and I'm not writing that scene or the wedding because I won't want to think about what happens afterwards**

 **Good news if I'm planning on writing a couple of one shots about Hiccup on here period (thanks for the idea marine1324) and a couple of other ones about Ash freaking out because he doesn't understand the girl side of puberty, so if you're up for some awkward Ash moments and like that sort of stuff, wait to read it! It'll be out soonish (Tuesday maybe). Enjoy! Bye!**

 **-Blue**


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